First off I would like to say it is very noble of you to even think this way. It shows that this course is actually doing something for you. Although, I think that you are still in the ‘guilt’ stage and haven’t really realized the bigger picture. While I am no expert by any standard, I think that you’ve brought up an interesting concept. If you realize that you are better off than people in poorer countries and fell that you have more power than them are you actually ‘better’ than them? I wonder. I think that these statements are actually two very separate things. On the one hand you have recognized the sad part of reality- yes you will always be better off than those people in third world countries, in terms of money, resources, and possibly success in your home land; but I don’t think this makes you racist, I think it makes you a realist. One the other hand you said that by thinking this way it means you realize you have the potential to do more, and by feeling you are better than someone aren’t you on the fine line of being racist? I think the answer is no. I think that being ‘worth more as a person’ isn’t comparable to ‘affecting the world in a greater way’. Yes, we do have the necessary power, money and resources here in America to do great things for other people and make peace for the world, etc. but this doesn’t mean you see yourself, necessarily, as better than other people. This simply means you, as an American, have better resources than other people. I don’t think this makes you better, smarter, or worth more than a slave in Africa or a poor Iranian woman. Just because you have more, and you realize that, doesn’t make you racist. It’s unfair to make that jump. I think it is very bold and honest of you to think that this jump seems logical but I disagree- please give yourself more credit. The world sort of sucks in the way that some countries do have a lot less than us, but that doesn’t mean since we have more we are naturally racist.

Yesterday’s class was pretty crazy. I knew once that video turned on it was going to be about harvesting cocoa. I have learned so much about Hershey Park and these companies using slavery to get chocolate made but I had never seen a video like this before. It was so powerful and emotional- to think that these young boys, who have NEVER even tasted chocolate, literally put their blood sweat and tears into gathering the beans. This is nuts. I want to be able to say ‘I don’t use any slave made products’ but it seems impossible. I even asked Sam, ok I’m letting this affect me, I want to be able to change my lifestyle what can I do? He had nothing to say, which disappointed me. I know he said letting this affect you is the first step, but I want more. It seems like there are so many, no, too many products out there with slavery made bits in them. Think about it, we cant cover our body in leaves like Adam and Eve and expect to grow our own food, build a new home with your own goods, etc. I cant possibly live my life like a caveman and still have a successful life without access to computers, phones, clothing, jobs, etc. At some point in everyone’s life- from newborn to senior citizen- we use products filled with slave made parts. Its sad to think about but buying Fair trade products will never truly be enough. I don’t have the power, let alone the money, to start my own slave-free clothing line or open my own store. I want to say I didn’t eat the second piece of chocolate but I would be lying. Its silly to ask me how I stomached the second piece but isn’t it obvious? I couldn’t make that kind of promise to Sam or the kids in that video. If I give up eating slave-made chocolate isn’t it still just as hypocritical that I own a cell phone with Malaysian slave parts? Or a cotton shirt made my slaves? Either way I am screwed, either way I am using products with slave made goods- but I cant do shit about it.

I think that people take race WAY too seriously. The fact that news is corrupt is somewhat relevant to this story as well. People are always looking to take something simple like a governmental survey and make it into a controversial issue. Ok, I see how negro can be an offensive word but it didn’t say nigger. Some people prefer to be called black, some African American and some negro. For those who don’t like the word, deal with it. I don’t like putting down white when not all white people come from the same place but who cares really? Whether you identify as African American, negro or black doesn’t really matter because the census puts a lot of groups together regardless. I don’t believe we will ever have a census that can represent all types of people. America is a mixing pot. Most of Americans have all different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Ten questions on a piece of paper doesn’t have the depth necessary to truly define who you are. Some people are ten percent this, and ten percent that and twenty five percent something. But what it comes down to is what do you identify as.

Aside from that, why were the newscasters so leading in their questions? I’m a Journalism major and I get so offended by broadcasters these days- the news is corrupt. The lady asked them if negro was an appropriate word? Does it remind you of slavery? That’s not fair to say because if that wasn’t in their head in the first place the newscaster just gave them that idea.

I also think this lady has a personal vendetta about race and she used strangers to push her point. She is both latino and black and wants to be able to say that. I get it- that is one thing wanting to claim 2 racial identities; but egging strangers on and basically making them agree with you isn’t right.

Also- what was the dude from ‘stuffwhitepeoplelike.com’ doing there? That threw me for a loop. He makes fun of race on his website, so he isn’t really a credible source to talk about the census. The people they chose to work on this piece really bothered me. Race is complicated, why are people SO offended by simple questions that government asks?

I found this video very interesting. It got me thinking about when Sam was discussing ‘bleeding’ and the stigma put on womens periods. I understood what he was coaxing out of us. I understood that he wanted us to react, and many people did by leaving the room. Even though I am a woman, and I do get my period once a month, I understand that because this happens to only women, it makes guys uncomfortable. I don’t find this shocking because I heard from people in my group and I realized that most guys don’t care to learn about periods because why bother? It doesn’t affect them at age 15 when we take sex ed. As I sat listening to the guys say things like “I had sisters, but I never questioned why they were hurting or why they were moody” and some boys stayed silent during the conversation. I think even though this isn’t a race issue it is totally relevant to our class because everyone can relate. Men deal with women at one point in their life, and must learn about fertility, etc. and women literally go through this process every month. I know it isn’t a ‘race’ issue but gender is something very important to sociology, and I found this topic interesting.

Now, for Sam to go on and on about blood in the toilet that he finds to be art was a bit much but I get why he said all of this. He wanted to provoke conversations about the stigma put on women. If it were socially acceptable for me to not go to work or class because I had cramps I would do so, but I cant. Sam is right, I should start yelling at people to hold the door for me if I’m bleeding. I just don’t understand why conversations such as these, that Sam and Laurie are so comfortable having, are hard for the rest of us. Fertility is beautiful, and while cramps and blood may not be how is it that everyone can watch ER, Greys Anatomy and SAW movies and see blood, guts, pain, etc without flinching? If social media can discuss blood and not creep people out then why is period blood any different? Its not like people are afraid of vaginas, so why do people get so tense when talking about the two together- blood and vagina? I agree with Sam and Laurie on this one- we need to talk about these issues more and get rid of the stigma.

After reading this I had mixed emotions- I laughed at first because of how ignorant people can be in 2010 but I was always sad and angry. I grew up in a very Liberal and ‘Politically Correct’ kind of town in northern New Jersey. I had gay neighbors and some of my friends have 2 moms- that is normal for me. I also did theater through high school and a lot of my guy friends are gay, some flaming, some more masculine. We never joked or stereotyped. Mike was Mike, Dan was Dan- no one was judged. My friend Shayne, who is a man, wore eye liner for a year and no one cared. When I came to college in 2007 I thought, ‘I’ll never meet homophobes, its 2007! People are more open-minded now’. I guess not. I have met some pretty stupid people in my lifetime. I have met people that think if gays can marry what is next, German Sheppard’s? That’s just stupid. So, to live where I live and then to read this article is just too upsetting. 2 of my favorite people in the world is my best friend who is a lesbian and my other best friend who is gay. To me, who they sleep with or love has no bearings on how I feel about them. When they came out to me I said as long as you’re not trying to fuck babies or animals, I don’t care how you live your life. Regardless of the fact that the south has this big ‘Southern Pride’ thing that doesn’t mean discrimination is ok. Discrimination, like racism, isn’t allowed to be a part of the ‘Southern Culture’. That’s like saying WWII and hating Jews is ok. Prejudice is prejudice. And what ever happened to people being able to wear whatever they want? How can a school board tell a girl not to wear a tux? That’s HER choice. Even if dress code is the issue, she isn’t bearing mid-drift or exposing herself- if anything a tux covers more of her than a dress. This school board has no real reason to not let these girls dance at prom. Lets be real, girls dance on each other whether straight or gay so why does it matter that these two are actually letting people know they love each other more than friends? It doesn’t; let them live. GIRL POWER!

I think that saying theme parties are only done by white kids and they are usually geared towards race is a small perception of what a theme party actually is. In my opinion, theme parties don’t have anything to do with racial issues. If you think about it, Christmas parties, thanksgiving parties, St. patty day parties are all holiday parties which are themed to that holiday but that doesn’t mean Christmas parties make fun of Santa Claus, or Germans.

A lot of parties I’ve been to seem stereotypical of that particular theme or group of people, but it doesn’t attack a certain group of people based on their race. I’ve been to beach parties, would you be my friend if I wore this party, high school stereotype parties, hippie parties, etc. You name it, there is a party out there for it. Yes at any party there will always be that one kid that dresses up like a ‘thug’ or ‘gangsta’ and black people find it offensive. On the opposite side when someone dresses like a ‘geek’ or a ‘nerd’ white people may take offense. Never in my party career have I been to a party aimed to make fun of a specific race. Yes, ‘ghetto’ parties exist- and while many people who claim to be ghetto are black people or black rappers and hip hop artists that doesn’t mean someone who sags their pants and wears a fitted hat at a party is attempting to make fun of black people. That’s like saying a 70’s party where people wear Afro wigs is making fun of black people.

And for many themed parties that relate to holidays, decades, and dating (ie traffic light party) there is no way to dissect these and find racial issues. They are just fun and games.

The reason why race relations gets so convoluted is because people see these kinds of parties and things going on in the world and make assumptions. Racial issues follow us everywhere but that doesn’t mean we can turn every little thing into a race issue. Themed parties in particular are just a silly way to make a party more interesting- like Halloween. We enjoy dressing up for the pure fun of it. I don’t think there is any malicious intent with a themed party. To make this jump and say themed parties are just white kids making fun of other races is just ridiculous.

I agree with the video posts that it is so typical of Americans to not take interest in something unless it personally affects them. When it comes to problems in this country, people become so self centered and only invest in political and social issues when it bests suits them. By this I mean, people won’t care about race issues unless their friend or loved one or family member is being attacked. Just like people ignore the fact that discrimination and domestic abuse even exist in our country. It is only when someone’s friend is beat to a pulp on the street, or raped, or killed that they wake up and say “this is terrible, we should stop this” As for the people in our country that are white, rich, live in good neighborhoods and live privileged lives- these people are rarely seen on the street asking for money for homeless shelters, or working on benefits against domestic violence or putting money into hospitals. Yes, there are those select few people in the spot light that donate money to a cause but usually their intentions aren’t pure.

As for the issue of persecution because of religion and race- I get why people were cowardly and didn’t stand up for the woman in the store. This is the ‘American way’. We see it in other facets of our lives, so of course it applies to race.

As for me, I find this disgusting. I am Jewish, and after going to Israel and seeing how religion has totally messed up our view of each other I get it. It doesn’t matter what you look like, who or what you pray to, or how you dress. Good people don’t look and act the same. As corny as it is, its what is on our inside that counts. To see people leave the store, content with the fact that a Muslim woman is being verbally abused makes me sick to my stomach. Sam is right; people are ignorant and by not helping the woman you can’t be in the neutral zone. The people that don’t speak up aren’t just cowards, they are silently picking a side- the WRONG side. It is these people that make me sad to live in this country.

I think that to say gay marriage can’t exist because of religion is stupid. Yes marriage started as a religious institution, but over time religion was not what made people marry. There are many economic and social benefits people get from a marriage certificate. First there is healthcare and medical insurance. Then there are other financial benefits that help your spouse. If you work for certain companies like transportation, ie airplanes, then your spouse flies for free. There is also citizenship. Some people just marry to get American citizenship. Is that what God wants from us? Or how about Vegas? Drunk people who just met and decide to get hitched out of nowhere. Ooh, there is also the little demon called booze. All of these things turn to one thing, hypocrisy. Lets be honest, marriage is no longer a religious institution.

What is with labels in this country and our society anyway? What does it matter to you if two women who love each other want the same benefits as a straight couple and we call it the same thing? If unions are going to help gay people get freedom from prejudice and hate, which will only better our world. What is so bad about calling it marriage? The term marriage has nothing to do with religion anymore so wake up, its 2010. I don’t understand how a college age person, who probably loves getting wasted, would be hypocritical enough to say gays have rights, but lets not let them be happy and have marriage.

Then there is the other argument people say that if we let gays ‘marry’ and treat it the same people will start having sex with animals too. Yea, those people suck. Just because men want to love other men in a sexual way and get married (women too) doesn’t mean bestiality will be ever be socially accepted, legal, or ‘proper’. I'm talking about 2 people, regardless of what gender and sex they are, loving each other and wanted to be treated equally just like everybody else. And to go off what Sam said. If people can marry for all sorts of stupid reasons like drunk in Vegas, or for money, or for power, etc what cant we let the people that work against the odds and fight for their love have the title of ‘married’?

When Sam first started his lecture about Determinism vs. Free Will I knew what his point would be. I took a philosophy class last year where we discussed these concepts a lot. If we look at out world as being determined for us, ie we do not make our own choices, the world and what we do is a grand plan, then we do not have free will. In this scenario it is the exact opposite. We think we have free will when we make choices but really we all travel on a set path in life. This theory is ridiculous and isn’t accepted by many philosophers in this day and age. For the most part, people WANT to believe we have free will. So once this conclusion is made we get to where Sam was “rocking his own world” in class the other day.

I do believe that life is a balance of our choices and what we were given, ie the ‘hand we were dealt’. If I didn’t have parents that grew up in small towns with hopes of making it big in New York City then I probably wouldn’t be the privileged white girl that I am today. Ill admit it, I have a privileged life. That is the hand I’ve been dealt. If it weren’t for them I wouldn’t be here at Penn State with hopes of graduate school and a nice job in a big city. Where my choice comes in is what I do with my hand. This is where I believe life gets messy. Some people claim that the things out side of their control are the only things that influence their life. For example, some of my friends at home don’t have money for college. Instead of working hard and trying to get scholarships they wasted every penny they got their hands on on drugs and booze. They said ‘screw it’ I cant do anything with my life so why bother. This is what upsets me the most about our society. Sam is right, it’s a combination. Just because I have money for college doesn’t mean I will piss my education away and say ‘well mom says money so I’m good’ because that’s just stupid. Yes, there are obstacles in everyone’s life, and depending on what you start out with determines how easy or hard life will be for you, but only to an extent.

I’m very involved in THON here, as are many students, because cancer is one of those things that strikes people regardless of age, race, money, etc. Cancer doesn’t care if you have a nice car, or if you are the best man in church, or if you help raise money for poor kids in Ethiopia. Cancer is an extraneous thing that affects people regardless of social issues. It is tings like cancer that also affect people’s political views.

Sam talked a lot about how people who believe in Determinism are Liberal and people who believe in Free Will are Conservative. I think this is a huge generalization. Yes, Conservatives are usually rich guys that believe they earned their money so they don’t want to give it away. Yes, liberals are usually tree huggers that want to share the wealth and help everyone succeed. BUT some people’s views are based on other things. If you are middle class and spend all your money on hospital bills for your sick child you may be more inclined to be conservative because you literally have to be. You cant afford to spend your hard earned cash on other people when you have a dying family member fighting for his/her life. Also, many poor people with many obstacles in their life are liberal because they simply believe the world should be a great place for everyone regardless of money and economics.

I might be exaggerating my point but to say that conservatives are always on the ‘free will’ side and liberals are always on the ‘determinism’ side is a stretch too. Other than that, Sam made amazing points.

When I first saw the movie Avatar I did not leave the theater saying “what a religious piece of crap”. I guess that’s what Brooks’ did because he literally ripped that movie to pieces. For those of you that haven’t seen Avatar, I really suggest you do as soon as possible (preferably in imax). The story is about nature and respect of cultures and loving one another. I found it to be a beautiful piece of art. So, when I see an article in the New York Times about how James Cameron promotes “a Messiah Complex” I get angry. I am a Journalism major so I understand we, as writers, love to create these really intense op-ed pieces just for attention. Ok, perhaps this theory is all horse crap and Brooks’ really didn’t feel this way about the movie but come on dude! Just because he isn’t the only person praising Mr. Cameron for his movie doesn’t mean he can trash it. He has been working on this script for over 30 years and apparently he dreamt up this land way before ‘Titanic’ and ‘Alien’ was ever written. Another side note, I heard Cameron needed technology to catch up to him because he envisioned this world, as well as the themes in the movie, in 1973 or something.

Anyway, if I were to sit in a theater and search for all the ways that a white actor resembled a Jesus character I could probably do so very easily. If you set your perspective to a certain degree and ONLY look for a specific thing, you can twist something to make it sound true. Writers, particularly critics, do this all the time. If they trash a movie by relating it to something trashy, and find a way to do it in a funny way then readers will agree with you. Journalists aren’t analytical geniuses; we just learn how to become very persuasive. I call it the art of bullshitting. If I make radical claims about a movie or show resembling some crazy theme like “ A Messiah Complex” then you’re probably thinking “why does she think these crazy thoughts?” and so you continue to read on. This is why Brooks’ article intrigued me, but that doesn’t mean I’m buying what he’s selling. I can take a movie and show you where the Messiah theme is too. For example, Woody from Toy Story saves all the toys and brings Buzz home, he too gets the hottest babe in town, Little Bo Peep. He even saves the toys in ‘Toy Story 2’ from the evil toy salesman that tries to split the gang up for profit. The bad guy- or “the man” is our consumerist society. Toy stores told the toys they weren’t one of a kind and were just toys ie the government doesn’t value us as individuals. But Woody is the white Messiah, he saves the day, crushes the bad guy, and makes a stand in his society for the good of his peers. Oh my gosh, look- Toy Story is all about Jesus!

Ok, I’m a nut case and my example was written out in 5 minutes, but you get the point. Brooks’ is original in his theory about Avatar but give it a rest, you’re not original by trying to disrespect a movie everyone else loves- you’re just trying to be different.